Method and system for assessing drinking behavior

ABSTRACT

Method and system for self-assessment of drinking behavior. According to one embodiment, the method includes examining a transdermal alcohol response curve obtained from a drinking event, querying a user on their feelings of intoxication after or during the event, and using the combination of the objective measurement and subjective feelings of intoxication to provide an alert or status during subsequent drinking events. In so doing, the method mitigates at least some of the drawbacks associated with conventional alcohol monitoring devices by correlating an individual&#39;s reported feelings of intoxication with an objective transdermal measurement of alcohol.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) ofU.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/447,214, inventor MichaelMoeller, filed Jan. 17, 2017, the disclosure of which is incorporatedherein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to alcohol monitoring devicesand relates more particularly to a new technique for assessing drinkingbehavior.

Alcohol monitoring devices, such as breathalyzers and wearabletransdermal alcohol monitors, traditionally report alcohol measurementsin terms of blood alcohol content (% BAC or BAC expressed in mg/dL).However, many physiological factors affect the blood alcoholconcentration and a particular individual's feeling of intoxication,such as sex, body weight, body water, the consumption of food,medications, and an individual's alcohol metabolism and tolerance. Thus,an individual's subjective feeling of intoxication may vary with thesame amount of alcohol when consumed at different times and underchanging physiological conditions.

Since many alcohol monitoring devices do not measure the blood alcoholcontent directly in the liquid phase, these devices need a correlationfactor between the alcohol measured in the vapor phase with the liquidconcentration of alcohol contained in the blood. For instance,breathalyzers use a “partition coefficient” to correlate the deep-lungvapor phase alcohol being measured by the breathalyzer device thatconverts that measurement to % BAC (i.e., the liquid phase alcoholconcentration in the blood). However, the average partition coefficientused by breathalyzers can vary by +/−30% or more. (See Hanson, D J,“Prevent unjust conviction for DWI or DUI charges,” State University ofNew York—Potsdam,http://www2.potsdam.edu/alcohol/files/Prevent-Unjust-Conviction-for-DWI-or-DUI-Charges.html#.U-PnffldXTq[Accessed Aug. 6, 2014]; and Jones, A W, “Quantitative measurements ofthe alcohol concentration and the temperature of breath during aprolonged exhalation,” Acta Physiol Scand, 114(3), 407-412 (1982), bothof which are incorporated herein by reference.) Similarly, wearabletransdermal alcohol monitors use a correlation factor to relate themeasured vapor phase alcohol diffusing through the skin to the liquidphase blood alcohol concentration. This correlation factor is also anaverage value that varies from individual-to-individual in a mannersimilar to the partition coefficient used with breathalyzers.

Therefore, due to the inherent physiological differences betweenindividuals and the inherent variability in correlating a vapor phasealcohol measurement to a blood alcohol concentration, the reported % BACprovided by these measuring devices is often not the best gauge of anindividual's subjective feelings of intoxication.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and systemfor assessing drinking behavior.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method andsystem as described above that correlates an individual's subjectivefeelings about a drinking event with an objective transdermalmeasurement of alcohol during the same drinking event.

According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a method forassessing drinking behavior to predict when alcohol consumption islikely to result in a subjective effect on the user, said methodcomprising the following steps: (a) using a transdermal alcohol sensordevice to obtain a first transdermal alcohol measurement of a user for afirst drinking event; (b) posing a query to the user about a subjectiveeffect on the user of the first drinking event; (c) correlating aresponse of the user to the query about the subjective effect of thefirst drinking event with the first transdermal alcohol measurement ofthe user for the first drinking event to obtain a correlating factor;(d) during a second drinking event, using the transdermal alcohol sensordevice to obtain a second transdermal alcohol measurement of the user;and (e) using the correlating factor and the second transdermal alcoholmeasurement to predict the subjective effect on the user from the seconddrinking event.

In another, more detailed feature of the invention, the subjectiveeffect may be a subjective feeling of intoxication.

In another, more detailed feature of the invention, the posing step maybe performed when a pre-determined blood alcohol level is measured bythe transdermal alcohol sensor device.

In another, more detailed feature of the invention, the subjectiveeffect may be a subjective feeling of being hungover.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a methodfor assessing drinking behavior to predict when alcohol consumption islikely to result in a feeling of impairment or intoxication, said methodcomprising the following steps: (a) determining a peak blood alcohol(BAC) level of a user for a first drinking event, wherein the peak BAClevel is detected using a transdermal alcohol sensor device; (b)querying the user about the user's subjective feelings of impairment orintoxication relating to the first drinking event; (c) correlating theuser's subjective feelings of impairment or intoxication relating to thefirst drinking event to the peak BAC level from the first drinking eventto establish a correlating factor; (d) monitoring the BAC level of theuser during a second drinking event using the transdermal alcohol sensordevice; and (e) providing a notification to the user, based on the BAClevel of the user during the second drinking event and the correlatingfactor derived from the first drinking event, about potential forfeelings of impairment or intoxication from the second drinking event.

In another, more detailed feature of the invention, the querying stepmay be performed after the BAC level of the user has returned to abaseline level.

In another, more detailed feature of the invention, the querying stepmay comprise providing the user with at least two options for aresponse.

In another, more detailed feature of the invention, the querying stepmay comprise providing the user with at least three options for aresponse.

In another, more detailed feature of the invention, the notification maycomprise an alert on a user interface device that the BAC level for afeeling of impairment or intoxication has been reached or is on pace tobe reached.

In another, more detailed feature of the invention, the notification maycomprise a status on a user interface device of the BAC level.

In another, more detailed feature of the invention, the method mayfurther comprise, before step (d), repeating steps (a) through (c) forone or more additional drinking events to establish ranges of impairmentor intoxication.

According to yet another aspect of the invention, there is provided amethod for assessing drinking behavior to predict when the consumptionof alcohol is likely to result in a feeling of being hungover, themethod comprising the following steps: (a) obtaining a first objectivetransdermal alcohol response curve of a user for a first drinking event,wherein the first objective transdermal alcohol response curve isobtained using a transdermal alcohol sensor device; (b) querying theuser about the user's subjective feelings about being hungover from thefirst drinking event; (c) correlating the user's subjective feelings ofbeing hungover to the first objective transdermal alcohol responsecurve; (d) monitoring the user during a second drinking event to obtaina second objective transdermal alcohol response curve using thetransdermal alcohol sensor device; and (e) providing a notification tothe user, based on the second objective transdermal alcohol responsecurve from the second drinking event and a correlation between theuser's subjective feelings of being hungover and the first objectivetransdermal alcohol response curve from the first drinking event, abouta possible hangover for the second drinking event.

In another, more detailed feature of the invention, the correlating stepmay comprise correlating the user's subjective feelings of beinghungover to an alcohol response rate derived from the transdermalalcohol response curve.

In another, more detailed feature of the invention, the correlating stepmay comprise correlating the user's subjective feelings of beinghungover to an area under the transdermal alcohol response curve.

In another, more detailed feature of the invention, the querying stepmay be performed after the blood alcohol level of the user has returnedto a baseline level.

In another, more detailed feature of the invention, the querying stepmay comprise providing the user with at least two options for aresponse.

In another, more detailed feature of the invention, the querying stepmay comprise providing the user with at least three options for aresponse.

In another, more detailed feature of the invention, the notification maycomprise an alert or status on a user interface device.

According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided asystem for assessing drinking behavior, the system comprising: (a) awearable transdermal alcohol sensor device; and (b) a user interfacedevice in communication with the wearable transdermal sensor device, theuser interface device being configured with an application to receive atransdermal alcohol measurement from the wearable transdermal alcoholsensor device corresponding to a first drinking event, to pose a queryto a user about a subjective effect on the user of the first drinkingevent and to receive a response from the user to the query, to correlatethe response of the user with the first transdermal alcohol measurementto obtain a correlating factor, to receive a second transdermal alcoholmeasurement of the user from the transdermal alcohol sensor device for asecond drinking event, to use the correlating factor and the secondtransdermal alcohol measurement to predict the subjective effect on theuser from the second drinking event, and to notify the user of theprediction.

In another, more detailed feature of the invention, the user interfacedevice may be selected from the group consisting of a smartphone, tabletor PC.

Additional objects, as well as aspects, features and advantages, of thepresent invention will be set forth in part in the description whichfollows, and in part will be obvious from the description or may belearned by practice of the invention. In the description, reference ismade to the accompanying drawings which form a part thereof and in whichis shown by way of illustration various embodiments for practicing theinvention. The embodiments will be described in sufficient detail toenable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is tobe understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that structuralchanges may be made without departing from the scope of the invention.The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in alimiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is best definedby the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are hereby incorporated into andconstitute a part of this specification, illustrate various embodimentsof the invention and, together with the description, serve to explainthe principles of the invention. These drawings are not necessarilydrawn to scale, and certain components may have undersized and/oroversized dimensions for purposes of explication. In the drawingswherein like reference numeral represent like parts:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a system for theassessment of drinking behavior, the system being constructed accordingto the teachings of the present invention and including a wearabletransdermal alcohol sensor device, which is shown worn on the wrist of aperson;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of the wearabletransdermal alcohol sensor device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary bottom view of the wearable transdermal alcoholsensor device shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating one embodiment of a method for theassessment of intoxication according to the teachings of the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 is a graph depicting a prophetic transdermal alcohol responsecurve of the type that may be obtained using the device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a pictorial representation of a display of a user interfaceapplication according to the teachings of the present invention, theuser interface application querying a user about the user's previousfeeling of intoxication;

FIG. 7 is a pictorial representation of a display of the user interfaceapplication of FIG. 6, the user interface application providing anintoxication alert;

FIGS. 8(a) and 8(b) are alternative displays of the user interfaceapplication of FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating one embodiment of a method for theassessment of a potential hangover according to the teachings of thepresent invention;

FIG. 10 is a graph depicting a prophetic transdermal alcohol responsecurve of the type that may be obtained using the device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 11 is a pictorial representation of a user interface applicationaccording to the teachings of the present invention, the user interfaceapplication querying a user about the user's feelings about beinghungover; and

FIG. 12 is a pictorial representation of a display of the user interfaceapplication of FIG. 11, the user interface application providing ahangover alert.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed at a method and system for assessingdrinking behavior, wherein the method and system use a correlationbetween an objective transdermal alcohol measurement and a user'ssubjective feelings of the effects of alcohol (e.g., feelingintoxicated, feeling hungover) from a first drinking event to provide analert or status, in real-time, for a second drinking event.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown one embodiment of a system for theassessment of drinking behavior, the system being represented generallyby reference numeral 100. System 100 may comprise a transdermal alcoholsensor device 200 and a user interface device 300, wherein transdermalalcohol sensor device 200 and user interface device 300 are capable ofcommunicating with each other. User interface device 300 may comprise asmartphone, tablet, PC, or similar device. User interface device 300 mayfurther comprise a software application to receive user input and todisplay output for performing the method described below for assessing adrinking behavior.

Transdermal alcohol sensor device 200 may be worn around the wrist of auser so that alcohol vapor diffusing through the skin of the user maydiffuse to an alcohol sensing component contained inside transdermalalcohol sensor device 200. Alternatively, transdermal alcohol sensordevice 200 may be secured at other locations on a user's body thatprovide transdermal alcohol sensor device 200 with access to the alcoholvapor diffusing through the skin of the user. Both transdermal alcoholsensor device 200 and user interface device 300 possess the capabilityto transmit and receive information using Bluetooth, Bluetooth LowEnergy, cellular, or an equivalent wireless means of communication.

Referring now to FIG. 2, an exploded perspective view of transdermalalcohol sensor device 200 is shown. Device 200 may comprise a bottomhousing 201 that may be placed in direct physical contact with the skinof a user. Bottom housing 201 may be provided with one or more accessslots 202 on a bottom wall (see FIG. 3) that allow alcohol vapordiffusing through the skin of a user to also diffuse into the interiorof bottom housing 201.

Device 200 may further comprise a gas permeable/liquid impermeablemembrane 203 that may seal access slots 202 on the interior of bottomhousing 201. Gas permeable/liquid impermeable membrane 203 may be sealedagainst the top surface of the bottom wall of bottom housing 201 usingultrasonic welding, heat-bonding, gasketing, or an equivalent means. Gaspermeable/liquid impermeable membrane 203 comprises a membrane that ispermeable to alcohol vapor, but impermeable to liquids. Examples ofmaterials that may be used as gas permeable/liquid impermeable membrane203 may include, but are not limited to, a silicone membrane, a siliconepolycarbonate composite membrane, a liquid impermeablepolytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) membrane, a liquid impermeablepolyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane, or any equivalent gaspermeable/liquid impermeable membrane.

As alcohol vapor diffuses through the gas permeable/liquid impermeablemembrane 203, the alcohol vapor may then be oxidized by an alcoholsensing element 204. Alcohol sensing element 204 may consist of orcomprise the same or a substantially similar electrochemical alcoholsensor cell as is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,944,661, inventors Swetteet al., which issued Aug. 31, 1999, and which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

Device 200 may further comprise a sealing cap 205 to provide a sealedenclosure for alcohol sensing element 204 within bottom housing 201.Sealing cap 205 may further provide electrical connections (not shown)to the sensing, counter, and reference electrodes of alcohol sensingelement 204 using gold pins sealed or molded within sealing cap 205,wherein the bottom of each gold pin is electrically-connected to one ofthe electrodes and the top of each gold pin may be accessed on a topside of sealing cap 205.

Device 200 may further comprise an electronics board 207, which, inturn, may comprise electrical contacts (not shown), such as gold pins,that are in electrical connection with each of the gold pins on thesurface of sealing cap 205. Electronics board 207 may further comprisethe same or a substantially similar potentiostatic control circuit as isused in U.S. Pat. No. 5,944,661 using said electrical connections tosensing, counter, and reference electrodes. Electronics board 207 mayfurther comprise a microprocessor for supplying power to thepotentiostatic circuit and for receiving and processing the signaloutput from the potentiostatic control circuit. Electronics board 207may further comprise a wireless communication module (e.g., TexasInstruments™ CC2540 chip for Bluetooth low energy data transmission;Ublox Sara G-3 series chip for cellular transmission) so thatinformation may be transmitted to and received from user interfacedevice 300.

Device 200 may further comprise a battery 206 for supplying power toalcohol sensing element 204 and/or electronics board 207. Battery 206may comprise a rechargeable or non-rechargeable coin cell battery.

Device 200 may further comprise a top housing 208, which may be securedagainst bottom housing 201 using one or more screws 209 to provide asealed enclosure for battery 206, alcohol sensing element 204,electronics board 207, and the other internal components of device 200.

Device 200 may further comprise a wristband 210, which may be securedbetween top housing 208 and a strap retainer 211 using one or morescrews 212.

System 100 may be utilized according to one or more of the methodsdescribed below.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, there is discloseda method for assessing drinking behavior to predict when the consumptionof alcohol is likely to result in a feeling of impairment orintoxication. Such a method may comprise the following steps: (a)determining a peak blood alcohol (BAC) level of a user for a firstdrinking event, wherein the peak BAC level is detected using atransdermal alcohol sensor device; (b) querying the user about theuser's subjective feelings of impairment or intoxication relating to thefirst drinking event; (c) correlating the user's subjective feelings ofimpairment or intoxication relating to the first drinking event to thepeak BAC level from the first drinking event to establish a correlatingfactor; (d) monitoring the BAC level of the user during a seconddrinking event using the transdermal alcohol sensor device; and (e)providing a notification to the user, based on the BAC level of the userduring the second drinking event and the correlating factor derived fromthe first drinking event, about potential for feelings of impairment orintoxication from the second drinking event.

Referring now to FIG. 4, there is shown a flowchart, illustrating theabove-described method. As can be seen, the method is representedgenerally by reference numeral 400. Method 400 may begin with adetermining step 401. Determining step 401, in turn, may compriseobtaining from a user, using a wearable transdermal alcohol device likedevice 200, an alcohol response curve resulting from a first drinkingevent, and analyzing the alcohol response curve to find the peak bloodalcohol content level from the first drinking event. For example, FIG. 5illustrates a prophetic transdermal alcohol response curve wherein themeasured transdermal alcohol vapor is correlated to % BAC. For purposesof this disclosure, a drinking event may be defined as a rise in the %BAC of 0.01% or greater. Analyzing step 401 preferably determines thepeak % BAC value (i.e., Point P) once the detected % BAC has returned tobackground (i.e., Point A).

Referring back to FIG. 4, method 400 may then continue with a queryingstep 402. Preferably, querying step 402 is performed after thetransdermal alcohol sensor device has detected that the user's BAC levelhas returned to background or baseline (i.e., at Point A or a time afterPoint A while the subject is still measuring 0.00% BAC). During queryingstep 402, an application on an interface device will ask the user aself-assessing question about the user's subjective feelings ofintoxication during the first drinking event. The user will then beprovided with at least two options for answering the question, whereinthe at least two options may offer descriptions of different levels ofintoxication. For example, FIG. 6 provides one embodiment of the query,wherein the application queries the user on how intoxicated the userfelt, and offers three options for a response: (1) “Intoxicated,” (2)“Impaired,” and (3) “Not Intoxicated.”

Referring back to FIG. 4, method 400 may then continue with acorrelating step 403. Correlating step 403 may relate the answerprovided in querying step 402 to the peak BAC level determined duringanalyzing step 401. For example, referring again to the transdermalalcohol response curve in FIG. 5, if the user answered “Impaired” duringquerying step 402, that response would be correlated to the peak BAClevel measured during analyzing step 401 (i.e., Point P or 0.085% BAC).In this manner, a correlating factor or standard may be established that“Impaired” correlates with the peak BAC level.

Referring back to FIG. 4, method 400 may then continue with a monitoringstep 404. During monitoring step 404, the BAC of the user may bemonitored using the transdermal alcohol sensor device.

Method 400 may further comprise a notification step 405, wherein anotification to the user about a second drinking event may be based onthe BAC level of the user during the second drinking event and thecorrelating factor derived from the correlation between the user'ssubjective feelings of intoxication relating to the first drinking eventand the peak BAC level from the first drinking event. For example,notification step 405 may comprise providing an intoxication alert tothe user during the second drinking event if the transdermal alcoholsensor device detects a BAC that meets or exceeds the correlating factorobtained in correlating step 403. For example, referring now to FIG. 7,there is shown one embodiment of an intoxication alert that appears onthe user interface device when the user reaches 0.09% BAC. In thisparticular example, the correlation would have previously established astandard that the user felt “Impaired” at a level of 0.09% BAC, and thealert would appear on the user interface device once the user reaches a0.09% BAC level as measured by the transdermal alcohol sensor device.Even if the BAC from the second drinking event has not met or exceededthe correlation factor, the user interface device may display some sortof textual notification of status.

In an alternative embodiment, notification step 405 may comprisedisplaying a status level in graphical form. For instance, the userinterface may display a dial (see FIG. 8(a)) or bar graph (see FIG.8(b)) with regions for one or more levels of intoxication. As themeasured % BAC from the transdermal alcohol device begins to rise, thebar in the display will move up (or a dial may move left or right) andapproach a threshold or cross a threshold into a different level ofintoxication. As the bar or dial moves into another region ofintoxication, a change of color or an indicator light may alert the userto the change in intoxication level.

Notification step 405 may further comprise incorporating predictivestatements. For instance, based on the rate at which the user isdrinking, the device would calculate that the user is on a pace to reacha % BAC in which the user would reach a new intoxication level.Referring again to FIG. 7, the second sentence indicates that thecurrent rate of drinking would cause the user to go from “Impaired” to“Heavily Intoxicated.”

In a further embodiment of the present invention, the steps of themethod may be repeated during subsequent drinking events to establishranges of intoxication. These steps may be repeated for each drinkingevent measured by the transdermal alcohol sensor device. The repeatedsteps may then be used to establish multiple correlation standards thatwould then be collated into intoxication intervals. For instance, basedon the correlations, a particular user may find that a rate of0.00-0.060% BAC correlates to “Not Intoxicated,” 0.061-0.110% BACcorrelates to “Impaired,” and greater than 0.110% BAC correlates to“Intoxicated.” The intoxication alerts or drinking status graphicaldepictions may then update as these ranges are updated with eachsubsequent drinking event.

In an alternative embodiment of the method, determining step 401 maycomprise setting one or more pre-determined BAC levels. As a userreaches the one or more pre-determined BAC level(s) as measured by thetransdermal alcohol sensor device, the method may proceed to thequerying step. In other words, instead of performing the querying stepafter the drinking event has ended and the BAC level returns to point A,the querying step may occur at the same time that a pre-determined BAClevel is measured by the transdermal alcohol sensor device. For example,as soon as the transdermal alcohol sensor device detects 0.05% BAC, thequerying step may occur. In this embodiment, there may be multiplepre-determined BAC levels (e.g., 0.05, 0.08, 0.01% BAC) at which timesthe querying step is performed.

According to another embodiment of the invention, there is provided amethod for assessing drinking behavior to predict when the consumptionof alcohol is likely to result in a feeling of being hungover. Such amethod may comprise the following steps: (a) obtaining a first objectivetransdermal alcohol response curve of a user for a first drinking event,wherein the first objective transdermal alcohol response curve isobtained using a transdermal alcohol sensor device; (b) querying theuser about the user's subjective feelings about being hungover from thefirst drinking event, (c) correlating the user's subjective feelings ofbeing hungover to the first objective transdermal alcohol responsecurve, (d) monitoring the user during a second drinking event to obtaina second objective transdermal alcohol response curve using thetransdermal alcohol sensor device, and (e) providing a notification tothe user, based on the second objective transdermal alcohol responsecurve from the second drinking event and a correlation between theuser's subjective feelings of being hungover and the first objectivetransdermal alcohol response curve from the first drinking event, abouta possible hangover for the second drinking event.

Referring now to FIG. 9, method 500 may begin with a determining step401. Determining step 401, in turn, may comprise obtaining from a user,using a wearable transdermal alcohol device like device 200, an alcoholresponse curve resulting from a first drinking event, and analyzing thealcohol response curve to calculate the alcohol response rate betweentwo selected points on the curve. For example, FIG. 10 illustrates aprophetic transdermal alcohol response curve wherein the measuredtransdermal alcohol vapor is correlated to % BAC. The alcohol responserate may be calculated from a point at the beginning of the alcoholresponse (e.g. Point A) to the peak BAC point (e.g. Point P) on thealcohol response curve. Alternatively, the alcohol response rate may becalculated from a point at the beginning of drinking (e.g. Point A) to apoint where response is still rising (e.g. Point B). The alcoholresponse rate may be expressed in % BAC/min, % BAC/hr, mg/(dL-min), ormg/(dL-hr). In an alternative embodiment, the analyzing step maycomprise using an alcohol response curve generated by a wearabletransdermal alcohol device to calculate the area under the curve betweentwo points. For instance, the area under the curve from a point at thebeginning of drinking (e.g. Point A) to the peak BAC point (e.g. PointP) on the alcohol response curve may be calculated. Alternatively, thearea under the curve may be calculated from a point at the beginning ofdrinking (e.g. Point A) to a point where the alcohol response is stillrising (e.g. Point B).

Method 500 may further comprise a querying step 502. Querying step 502may comprise asking the user a question about the user's subjectivefeelings related to being hungover after the first drinking event hastaken place. When the transdermal alcohol sensor device detects that theperson is back at background or baseline BAC level (see, e.g., Point Cin FIG. 10), the application on the user interface device may ask if theuser feels hungover and may offer two or more answers from apre-determined set of two or more answers indicating different hangoverlevels. For example, FIG. 11 illustrates one embodiment of a displayfrom the user interface device wherein the user is queried on howhungover the user feels and offers three options for a user response:(1) “Very Hungover,” (2) “A Little Hungover,” and (3) “Not Hungover.”

Method 500 may further comprise a correlating step 503. Correlating step503 may comprise correlating the alcohol response rate or area under thecurve calculated during the determining step 501 to the answer providedby the user during querying step 502. For example, in the case where theuser selects the “Very Hungover” answer, the alcohol response rate orthe area under the curve values calculated during the analyzing step maybe assigned the “Very Hungover” level.

Referring back to FIG. 9, method 500 may then continue with a monitoringstep 504. During monitoring step 504, a second objective transdermalalcohol response curve of the user may be obtained using the transdermalalcohol sensor device.

Method 500 may further comprise a notification step 505, wherein anotification to the user about a second drinking event may be based onthe second objective transdermal alcohol response curve of the userduring the second drinking event and the correlation between the user'ssubjective feelings of being hungover from the first drinking event andthe first objective transdermal alcohol response curve. For example,notification step 505 may comprise providing a hangover alert or statusto the user during the second drinking event if the transdermal alcoholsensor device detects an alcohol response rate or area under the alcoholresponse curve that meets or exceeds the correlation obtained incorrelating step 503. For instance, if the correlation from the firstdrinking event establishes that an alcohol response rate of 0.04% BAC/hror greater correlates to the particular user having a hangover, if thesubsequent drinking event has an alcohol response rate of 0.05% BAC/hr,then an alert will be displayed. FIG. 12 illustrates one embodiment of ahangover alert that may appear in the application of the user interfacedevice. Alternatively, the device or smartphone application may displaya continuous drinking status wherein the status changes according to thechange in the alcohol response rate. For instance, during the initialalcohol response, the status may display “No Hangover,” but, as thealcohol response rate rises above 0.04% BAC/hr, for example, then thedrinking status may change to “Hangover Rate.” In a further embodiment,the device or smartphone application may display instructions, such as“Drink More Water” or “Eat Some Food,” which may assist the user inslowing down the user's drinking rate.

In an alternative embodiment, notification step 505 may comprisedisplaying a status level in graphical form. For instance, the userinterface may display a dial or bar graph with regions for hangover ratelevels. As the measured % BAC from the transdermal alcohol device beginsto rise, the bar in the display will move up (or a dial may move left orright) and cross the threshold into a different hangover level. As thebar or dial moves into another hangover level, a change of color or anindicator light may alert the user to the change in hangover level.

In a further embodiment of the present invention, the steps of themethod may be repeated each time the transdermal alcohol sensor devicedetects a drinking event. The method repetitions may be used toestablish multiple correlation factors that would then be collated intohangover level intervals. For instance, based on the correlations, aparticular user may find that a rate of 0.00-0.02% BAC/hr correlates to“Not Hungover,” 0.02-0.04% BAC correlates to “A Little Hungover,” andgreater than 0.04% BAC/hr correlates to “Very Hungover.” Similarly,intervals correlating the area under the curve to the hangover levelsmay be established from multiple drinking events. These intervals may beupdated for each subsequent drinking event detected by the transdermalalcohol sensor device.

As can be appreciated, unless expressly prohibited herein or otherwiseincompatible therewith, elements of the method for assessing drinkingbehavior to predict when the consumption of alcohol is likely to resultin a feeling of impairment or intoxication may be combined with and/orexchanged with elements of the method for assessing drinking behavior topredict when the consumption of alcohol is likely to result in a feelingof being hungover.

The embodiments of the present invention described above are intended tobe merely exemplary and those skilled in the art shall be able to makenumerous variations and modifications to it without departing from thespirit of the present invention. All such variations and modificationsare intended to be within the scope of the present invention as definedin the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for assessing drinking behavior topredict when alcohol consumption is likely to result in a subjectiveeffect on the user, said method comprising the following steps: (a)using a transdermal alcohol sensor device to obtain a first transdermalalcohol measurement of a user for a first drinking event; (b) posing aquery to the user about a subjective effect on the user of the firstdrinking event; (c) correlating a response of the user to the queryabout the subjective effect of the first drinking event with the firsttransdermal alcohol measurement of the user for the first drinking eventto obtain a correlating factor; (d) during a second drinking event,using the transdermal alcohol sensor device to obtain a secondtransdermal alcohol measurement of the user; and (e) using thecorrelating factor and the second transdermal alcohol measurement topredict the subjective effect on the user from the second drinkingevent.
 2. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the subjective effectis a subjective feeling of intoxication.
 3. The method as claimed inclaim 1 wherein the posing step is performed when a pre-determined bloodalcohol level is measured by the transdermal alcohol sensor device. 4.The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the subjective effect is asubjective feeling of being hungover.
 5. A method for assessing drinkingbehavior to predict when alcohol consumption is likely to result in afeeling of impairment or intoxication, said method comprising thefollowing steps: (a) determining a peak blood alcohol (BAC) level of auser for a first drinking event, wherein the peak BAC level is detectedusing a transdermal alcohol sensor device; (b) querying the user aboutthe user's subjective feelings of impairment or intoxication relating tothe first drinking event; (c) correlating the user's subjective feelingsof impairment or intoxication relating to the first drinking event tothe peak BAC level from the first drinking event to establish acorrelating factor; (d) monitoring the BAC level of the user during asecond drinking event using the transdermal alcohol sensor device; and(e) providing a notification to the user, based on the BAC level of theuser during the second drinking event and the correlating factor derivedfrom the first drinking event, about potential for feelings ofimpairment or intoxication from the second drinking event.
 6. The methodas claimed in claim 5 wherein the querying step is performed after theBAC level of the user has returned to a baseline level.
 7. The method asclaimed in claim 5 wherein the querying step comprises providing theuser with at least two options for a response.
 8. The method as claimedin claim 7 wherein the querying step comprises providing the user withat least three options for a response.
 9. The method as claimed in claim5 wherein the notification comprises an alert on a user interface devicethat the BAC level for a feeling of impairment or intoxication has beenreached or is on pace to be reached.
 10. The method as claimed in claim5 wherein the notification comprises a status on a user interface deviceof the BAC level.
 11. The method as claimed in claim 5 furthercomprising, before step (d), repeating steps (a) through (c) for one ormore additional drinking events to establish ranges of impairment orintoxication.
 12. A method for assessing drinking behavior to predictwhen the consumption of alcohol is likely to result in a feeling ofbeing hungover, the method comprising the following steps: (a) obtaininga first objective transdermal alcohol response curve of a user for afirst drinking event, wherein the first objective transdermal alcoholresponse curve is obtained using a transdermal alcohol sensor device;(b) querying the user about the user's subjective feelings about beinghungover from the first drinking event; (c) correlating the user'ssubjective feelings of being hungover to the first objective transdermalalcohol response curve; (d) monitoring the user during a second drinkingevent to obtain a second objective transdermal alcohol response curveusing the transdermal alcohol sensor device; and (e) providing anotification to the user, based on the second objective transdermalalcohol response curve from the second drinking event and a correlationbetween the user's subjective feelings of being hungover and the firstobjective transdermal alcohol response curve from the first drinkingevent, about a possible hangover for the second drinking event.
 13. Themethod as claimed in claim 12 wherein the correlating step comprisescorrelating the user's subjective feelings of being hungover to analcohol response rate derived from the transdermal alcohol responsecurve.
 14. The method as claimed in claim 12 wherein the correlatingstep comprises correlating the user's subjective feelings of beinghungover to an area under the transdermal alcohol response curve. 15.The method as claimed in claim 12 wherein the querying step is performedafter the blood alcohol level of the user has returned to a baselinelevel.
 16. The method as claimed in claim 12 wherein the querying stepcomprises providing the user with at least two options for a response.17. The method as claimed in claim 12 wherein the querying stepcomprises providing the user with at least three options for a response.18. The method as claimed in claim 12 wherein the notification comprisesan alert or status on a user interface device.
 19. A system forassessing drinking behavior, the system comprising: (a) a wearabletransdermal alcohol sensor device; and (b) a user interface device incommunication with the wearable transdermal sensor device, the userinterface device being configured with an application to receive atransdermal alcohol measurement from the wearable transdermal alcoholsensor device corresponding to a first drinking event, to pose a queryto a user about a subjective effect on the user of the first drinkingevent and to receive a response from the user to the query, to correlatethe response of the user with the first transdermal alcohol measurementto obtain a correlating factor, to receive a second transdermal alcoholmeasurement of the user from the transdermal alcohol sensor device for asecond drinking event, to use the correlating factor and the secondtransdermal alcohol measurement to predict the subjective effect on theuser from the second drinking event, and to notify the user of theprediction.
 20. The system as claimed in claim 19 wherein the userinterface device is selected from the group consisting of a smartphone,tablet or PC.